The Curse of Egypt

Friday, October 24, 1997

The doorbell rang. “I’ll get it!” Zoe Haber yelled as she jumped up from the couch. Zoe’s calico cat, Felinus, wove between her legs, almost tripping her up as she bolted toward the door. On the other side of the door stood Zoe’s two best friends, Wendy and Geoffrey. The two couldn’t have been more different: Wendy was short, plump, and homely-looking, while Geoffrey was tall, langley, and nerdy. Wendy smiled as she bustled by Zoe and into the house, her scarf getting tangled around her neck. Geoffrey slinked by her, stooping to pet Felinus.

“You ready for the Fall Festival?” Wendy asked, her eyes shining. It was the first year Zoe’s parents would let her go to the annual street fall festival without them and she couldn’t wait to finally go to the scarier parts of the festival.

Zoe smiled. “I couldn’t be more ready,” she replied.

 

The teenagers made a strange trio as they made their way through the throngs of townspeople: one tall nerdy kid, one miniature Molly Weasley, and an African princess. Zoe laughed as she looked around her at all the weird-looking Halloween-themed booths around them. She had always loved the Fall Festival, but there was a certain mystique to the usual smells of hot dogs and cotton candy, and to the eerie glow of the dim street lights at night when you were with your friends and not your family.

Geoffrey took a bite of the cotton candy the three were sharing. “I heard there was this weird ‘witch’ with a booth down there somewhere.” He motioned toward the end of the road.

“Great! Let’s go see it then. I’m not scared of no witches!” Zoe exclaimed.

“That’s a double negative,” Wendy pointed out. “But if you really want to...”

“Good, that’s settled then. Vamanos! Everybody, let’s go! I know that we can do it. Come on, let’s get to it!” Geoffrey sang, horribly off key.  

“Are you quoting Dora the explorer?” Wendy giggled.

“What? You’d do it too if you hear it about a hundred times watching Dora the Explorer with your baby cousins.”

Zoe listened to their banter absetmindly as she walked toward the witch’s booth. She can just tell that the two liked each other as more than just friends. The problem was that Wendy and Geoffrey just couldn’t tell that the other shared their feelings. Wrapped up in her own thoughts, Zoe didn’t realize the others had stopped until she almost tripped over Wendy. She stepped back and looked at the gauzy tent with the sign propped up next to it: Claudia Lilith, Seer: Enter if you dare!  

“This looks kind of cheap, doesn’t it?” Zoe asked.

“Well, yeah. But still, have you ever had a psychic reading?” Geoffrey asked.

Zoe scoffed. “I bet its all some kind of elaborate trick that tricks you into forking over your money.”

“Oh, come on, Zoe! Lighten up. Just once? Please? I want to know what my future holds, even if you don’t,” Wendy pleaded.

Zoe couldn’t deny that pleading face. “Oh fine. Let’s get this over with.” I truly hope, for my own sake, that this “seer” tells Wendy that she’ll grow up and marry Geoffrey. I’m getting tired of watching them moon over each other.

Zoe should have listened to that sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Zoe followed Wendy and Geoffrey, pushing back the cloth at the entrance. Once she was inside, they had to stop for a second to take it in. The interior of the tent looked just like Zoe had always imagined: dim and smoky. Their eyes watered as they looked around. Colorful Russian carpets covered the floor and the walls, and pieces of silk hung from the ceiling along with a paper lantern. Candles burned in abundance on each low table and in the center of it all, an older women swathed in every color of silk and beads imaginable sat on a cushion behind a table.

The woman, who must have been Claudia Lilith, smiled at them, which just served to creep Zoe out even farther. “Ah, I have been waiting for you children for a very long time.”

“Yeah, Yeah. Lets get this magic show over with,” said Zoe hurriedly, moving to sit on a cushion across from Claudia Lilith.

The woman’s smile faltered for a second. Zoe must have imagined it though. The woman motioned toward the cushions beside Zoe’s. “Come, come sit down. We have much to talk about.”

Wendy hesitated before sitting. Geoffrey looked like he wished he had never suggested coming here. Geoffrey always liked everything to be proven, scientific facts. There was something in the air that suggested something bad was going to happen.

Once they were seated, Claudia Lilith closed her eyes and waved her hand across the crystal ball in front of her that Zoe could have sworn hadn’t been there before. Wendy and Geoffrey instinctively leaned forward while Zoe just rolled her eyes. Claudia Lilith opened one eye to look at them. “You do know I’m going to have a bit of something to encourage me.”

Wendy sighed and took out her wallet. She flipped through the bills. “How much?” she asked.

“Oh, it depends how accurate you want your readings.”

Wendy handed Claudia Lilith a twenty dollar bill and the woman tucked the bill down the front of her shirt. Then she closed her eyes again and waved her hands. Suddenly, the inside of the crystal ball started to swirl. Wendy gasped as Geoffrey almost fell backwards. Zoe’s eyes widened. Then the witch spoke.

“Ah, I see something. Something dark in your futures. You!” She suddenly pointed at Geoffrey (who almost fell off his cushion), her bracelets jingling. “You will betray your friends when you are needed most. Your decisions will cost a life.” She then pointed at Wendy. Wendy sat forward. “You will stand by your friend, but at what cost? Your future is in a dark and dismal place. I can hear the screams echoing around you!” Wendy paled as Claudia Lilith motioned to Zoe. “And you. Your future is clouded from my inner eye. What--”

“All right!” Zoe interrupted. “Really, no need to creep us out more than you already have. Come on, guys. This whole gypsy act is obviously just a load of bullshit.”

Claudia Lilith’s face reddened. “What did you call this?”

“Bullshit. I thought the the intent behind my words made it clear enough what it means.”

The seer’s eyes flashed. “My gift is not this...this...bullshit.” she spat. “And it is certainly not a gypsy’s! My gift has been passed down through generations of my family. Bestowed upon us by the Great Avi Socho himself!”

“Am I supposed to be impressed by that?” Zoe scoffed. Wendy and Geoffrey glanced between the two of them nervously as they glared daggers at each other. They held each other’s gaze until finally Zoe stood up abruptly. “Let’s go. We don’t need to hear this blasphemy.”

As the three of them turned to leave, Claudia Lilith recovered. “You will regret insulting me! Hear my words! May my ancestor, Avi Socho, set the Curse of Egypt loose upon you, Zoe Haber!”

A cold feeling washed over Zoe and she shivered involuntarily as she passed through the entrance.

Halfway across the globe, in Germany, I looked up from the poor soul crushed by the moving train. There was another soul to be reaped.